Per recently filed legal paperwork, Actress Vivica A. Fox is in hot water over her TV show Vivica’s Black Magic, which was a series about male strippers that she hosted on Lifetime.
The problems started when Fox gave a promotional interview for the show and seemed to suggest that it was strictly for women and not for gay men.
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Jean-Claude LaMarre, the producer of the show, took offense to this and, in an attempt to undo the P.R. nightmare Fox had caused, publicly stated that “all are welcome” to enjoy Vivica’s Black Magic.
This led to a pretty significant rift being created between the two, and they ultimately ended up launching opposing touring shows based on the series.
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Now, according to Page Six, LaMarre has filed a lawsuit against Fox, accusing her of “libel, slander, and contract interference.”
The suit states, “LaMarre conceived the idea of a live all black male revue. Fox employed a concerted effort of defamation, intimidation and misrepresentation to steal talent from ‘Black Magic Live,’ and to confuse ‘Black Magic Live’s’ audience, providing the public with false statements that Fox’s copycat dance venture was in fact the real ‘Black Magic Live’ dance revue.”
It then goes on to say, “As a result of Fox’s defamatory social media campaign, LaMarre’s customers canceled ‘Black Magic Live’ tickets and demanded refunds at shows. Fox’s homophobic interview comments and vindictive campaign against LaMarre and ‘Black Magic Live’ destroyed any economic advantages LaMarre expected to enjoy following the reality show.”
The duo’s relationship goes back to 2015 when Fox starred in Chocolate City, which was a black version of Magic Mike that LaMarre wrote and directed. She also starred in the sequel, Chocolate City: Vegas.
When the concept of the TV show came up, and Lifetime bought it, Fox was once again brought in as the star.
During the aforementioned promo interview, however, Fox was asked if the dancers of the show would ever dance for men, to which she replied, “Hell no. There’s no need to. They dance for women. It’s called ‘the ultimate girls’ night out’ for a reason.’
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This comment was seen as a Fox taking a homophobic stance on the subject and prompted Lamarre to respond in order to save what they’d built together.
Their relationship never recovered and they both launched separate touring shows based on the show. LaMarre claims Fox stole performers from his show and made disparaging comments about it publicly which, along with her previous comments, is the basis for his suit.
At this time, Fox does not appear to have released a statement regarding the lawsuit, but it’s likely only a matter of time before she does.
